Published: Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, February 7, 2013 at 8:52 p.m.

It's hard to believe there was a time when Jens Lindemann didn't want to play trumpet, especially considering his reputation as one of the greatest soloists in the history of the instrument.

Facts

Want to go?

What: Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra Valentine's Day POPS concert featuring Jens Lindemann and the Spartanburg Jazz EnsembleWhen: 8 p.m. ThursdayWhere: Twichell Auditorium, Converse CollegeTickets: $10, $25 and $35Info: 596-9725 or www.spartanburgphilharmonic.org*The Philharmonic has partnered with Cribbs Kitchen, Converse Deli and Zarza Restaurant to offer a 15 percent discount on pre-concert meals. Just show your concert ticket to the waiter. There will also be a special Valentine's cocktail party starting at 6:45 p.m. in the Twichell Auditorium lobby.

“I wanted to be a drummer, but in the middle school band, you had to start out with trumpet or clarinet if you wanted to play drums,” said Lindemann, a native of Canada who now lives in Los Angeles. “Then, after two weeks, there were tests, and the best players could decide if they wanted to be drummers.

“Out of 25 trumpeters, I was dead last. But my mother wouldn't let me quit the band, so I had to play (the trumpet) for the rest of the year. By the end of the year, though, I was hooked.”

Lindemann, who has played every major concert venue in the world and was once named International Brass Personality of the Year by Brass Herald, will be the guest soloist for a special Valentine's Day POPS concert Thursday by the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra at Converse College's Twichell Auditorium.

The concert will offer a wide array of jazz and romantic favorites, including selections from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, a Duke Ellington medley and such songs as “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Caught a Touch of Your Love” and “Nice and Easy.”

A highlight will be a performance of contemporary composer Allan Gilliland's Dreaming of the Masters, a jazz concerto written specifically for Lindemann.

“It's an homage to many jazz and pop styles, ranging from big band and blues to contemporary flugelhorn and cornet virtuosity of the early 20th century,” Lindemann said of the piece. “And it finishes with a hot Latin salsa, so we kind of cover a little bit of everything in that one work.”

Lindemann said he and Spartanburg Philharmonic music director/conductor Sarah Ioannides previously worked together on the piece during a performance in Michigan with the world-renowned Brass Band of Battle Creek.

Ioannides “is a fantastic conductor — very personable both with the musicians and the audience,” said Lindemann, who was classically trained at The Julliard School in New York. “What I like about working with her is that she's what we would call a ‘musician's conductor,' meaning that she has true empathy for the people who are standing on stage making music that she's trying to create. Believe me, not all conductors are like that.”

Assuming the audience requests an encore, Lindemann has plans to perform “Who Wants to Live Forever,” a pop ballad by legendary English rock band Queen.

“The melody of that song is actually fantastic,” Lindemann said. “And it's funny because in the shows that I do, most of the comments that I get afterward are either about Bach — when I play the Orchestral Suite No. 3 — or about Queen, ‘Who Wants to Live Forever.' People kind of chuckle when they first see it; but the piece itself is very powerful.”

In addition to featuring Lindemann, Thursday's POPS concert will include the first-ever collaboration between the Spartanburg Philharmonic and the Spartanburg Jazz Ensemble.

“It's always exciting for me when we bring together other arts and music organizations in town,” Ioannides said. “As performers and artists, we can sometimes feel isolated, so it's nice to be able to reach out to each other. This is a great opportunity for that, and we're looking forward to it. The Jazz Ensemble is a very well-finessed group with some top-caliber players.”

Tom Wright, the director of the Spartanburg Jazz Ensemble, shares Ioannides' enthusiasm for the concert.

“I play saxophone and I'm the featured soloist on one of the songs, ‘Since I Fell for You,' ”

Wright said. “And not only will the big band be backing me up but also the orchestra, which is exciting because it's the first time I've ever played with strings as a backup.”

The Jazz Ensemble also will have two vocalists performing during the concert, Jean Calvert and Darin Dotson.

“I've never sung with an orchestra before, so that's going to be a first,” Dotson said. “My wife, Brenda, is going to be out there in the audience, so I'm going to get to sing to her on Valentine's Day, which I think is going to be an awesome experience.”

Lindemann said he recently performed a concert in Canada that featured a similar collaboration.

“We had a full orchestra on stage, and they were in black tuxedos,” Lindemann said. “And then we had a big band on stage, wearing white tuxedos. The dichotomy visually and musically was amazing, and there was all this energy on stage.

“And it was so successful that the orchestra decided they're going to start a series (with the big band) next year. I hope that exact same thing happens in Spartanburg, because marrying classical musicians with jazz musicians locally is a great combination.”

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